Advancements in multimedia technology have provided television viewers a tremendous variety and range of options, ranging from broadcast over the air, sent through satellite, delivered via cable, delivered through a wireless communication system or over the Internet. For example, currently, there are over hundreds of broadcast channels offered through a cable or satellite service, together with multiple on-line Internet services.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional broadcasting system such as a cable or satellite network. The cable network includes a set top box (STB) 12 located next to a customer's display 16 or television. The STB 12 is typically a gateway device between a customer's television 16 and the broadcast communication network 10. The STB 12 receives broadcast TV content 10 from the network via cable or satellite 11, tunes to a desired channel and renders the tuned content for display on a display 16 such as a television. A local application 15 in communication with a tuner 13 and a renderer 14 receives commands from a user, for example via a remote control, to control the tuning and access the local programming guide(s), for example, viewing the TV guides. The tuner 13 can be a digital tuner or an analog tuner, configured to tune to a digital or analog channel of the broadcasting network. A remote control (not shown) can be used for operation of the STB 12 and the display 16. Additional components include a memory or storage system. The configuration shown is for purpose of illustration and is not intended to be a detailed schematic of a STB or a communication network.
Traditionally, the schedule of these programs is provided with printed TV guides or on-screen listings, which is transmitted through a dedicated cable television channel. This channel provides a scrolling programming guide where the schedules for different channels are sequentially presented. The viewer simply tunes to the dedicated schedule channel and views the program listings. But this programming guide is limited, time consuming and non-interactive.
Advanced programming guides offer interactive control where the viewer can use a remote control device to scroll the schedules through different channels and time. Furthermore, additional information regarding a selected program can also be presented, such as cast of characters or plot-line. For example, the local application in the STB may be coupled to the network to gather programming information, such as schedule information or detail information relating to specific programs. The information is typically downloaded periodically for a predetermined range of time, for example, the upcoming two weeks. The local application may include a program guide application to navigate the schedule information. However, with hundreds of different channels with many of the same events may be playing on multiple channels at different times, it is still time consuming and frustrating to surf through these programming guides.
FIG. 2 presents a schematic block diagram of a cable or satellite network where the STB is divided into a bridge component 27 and a PC or STB component 22, linked together by a secured interface 28. The division typically gives the tuner 23 to the bridge component 27 and the renderer 24 to the PC or STB component 22. A bridge application 28 within the bridge component 27 controls the tuner 23, and a local application 25 within the PC or STB component 22 controls the renderer 24 and communicates with the bridge application 28. To protect the broadcast TV content 20, data transmission from the bridge component 27 to the PC or STB component 22 is secured through a secured interface 28, such as a Digital Right management (DRM) or a conditional access (CA) system. The conditional access system restricts channels accessible by the device to authorized channels only. The TV content can be encrypted with an access code to limit access in some manner defined by the content provider or the network, for example, the content may be playable for 3 times following payment. Even though a PC can be used in place of STB, the program guide application which resides in the PC is still restricted to the local application, and does not take advantage of the numerous navigation options available in a modern PC.
Advances in telecommunications and computing technology are leading to interactive television, providing video gateways and transport to residential and business subscribers. Interactive TV service is capable of supporting traditional television programming and other video services such as pay-per-view (PPV) and video-on-demand (VOD). Furthermore, with the increase in Internet connection speeds, traditional television content, in additional to Internet-only television content, can be delivered over the Internet.
The basic difference between broadcast TV and Internet-based TV is in the most typical case the location of content selection, or tuner. In a broadcast TV or satellite network, the network sends all broadcast content (e.g. a plurality of broadcast channels) downstream to every customer, and the customer selects or tunes to the desired content at the STB. In most implementations of an Internet-based TV service, the customer sends the selection upstream to the network, and the network selects and then sends only the selected content to the customer's home.
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered by using Internet Protocol over a network, such as a broadband connection. For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with other Internet services.
FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an IPTV network communication. The TV content 30 is controlled by an IPTV server 38, including live TV or stored video such as VOD, and can be sent through IP Multicast in which information can be sent to multiple computers at the same time, or through IP Unicast in which information is sent to a specific computer through a point-to-point unicast connection between the PC or STB and the delivering server. An application 37 selects the content to be sent, and delivers the selected content 33 through the Internet 31 to the customer. After receiving the information through the Internet 31, a PC or STB 32 renders the content through a renderer 34 to a display 36. Since the information is pre-selected, there is no tuner necessary. A local application 35 can be included for interactive communication with the network, providing channel surfing and transmitting requests of program selection to the server. An Internet-based platform can provide a more interactive and personalized TV viewing experience. The viewer can search the Internet for any desired information, such as content by title or actor's name, thus allowing them to surf TV programs more effectively. However, currently, real-time data transmission with the Internet Protocol has restricted the growth of the Internet infrastructure in comparison to broadcast TV of cable or satellite TV systems that scale much better.
Another form of TV content delivered through Internet is Internet television, where the content is designed specifically for an Internet audience. Internet Television is available from the Internet, and can be accessible by a PC without the need for a STB. FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an Internet TV network communication where a viewer accesses a browser 49 from a PC 42, communicates through the Internet 41 with an application 47 of a server 48 for a selection of TV content 43. The selected TV content 43 is then sent through the Internet 41 to the PC 42, rendered to a desired format by a renderer 44, and displayed on a display 46.
There are different ways to deliver TV content over an IP network. The distinction between IPTV and Internet TV consists of the access method. In the case of IPTV a local network provider-specific application performs content navigation, while in the case of Internet TV a standards-based browser is used to navigate the content. In both cases the service delivers video content to a viewer's TV through an Internet connection.
The availability of these different delivery mediums has resulted in broad programming choices available to the consumer, including broadcast programs, movies, Pay-Per-View (PPV), and video on demand (VOD).
Advances in Internet communication has also provided Internet-based communication linked with broadcast TV content. For example, a TiVo recording service allows users to capture television programming to an internal hard disk storage. The TiVo application resides locally in the STB with the data updated periodically from a server, for example, through a telephone line or through the Internet. TiVo also provides an electronic television programming schedule, and permits the setting of recording options based on that schedule information. TiVo devices can also be connected to the Internet for downloading information and even video programs and movies from the Internet.
FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary TiVo network connection. A STB 52 with a TiVo application 55 can allow the viewer to select programs delivered from broadcast TV content 50, sent through cable or satellite network 51. The selection controls the tuner to tune the broadcast signals to the desired channel. TiVo application 55 allows the viewer to select a program to watch or to record now or later. The TiVo application is similar to a local application, with a predetermined program and updated data downloaded from the network.
In addition, the TiVo application also provides communication capability to a remote computer 59, operating a browser linked with the Internet 53 to access a program on a server 58, for example, TiVo.com or other supplemental applications. This capability allows the remote server to surf the Internet, and then select a desired program to be recorded. The application from the server then sends instruction through the Internet to the TiVo application, setting the recording parameters so that the STB can record the desired program.
Another TV system which uses the Internet is a Slingbox. A Slingbox is a TV streaming device that sends video from their cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (DVR) to an Internet network to be viewed on a remote display. FIG. 6 illustrates a Slingbox connection where a Slingbox client 64 connects a TV source 68 to an existing Internet connection 63. A Slingbox server 65 connects a remote display 69 to the Internet 63, and the Slingboxes 64, 65 direct the video from the broadcast TV content 60 to the Internet 63 and to the remote display 69. The DVR and STB can also be controlled by a remote control at the remote location.